He composed songs, sold thousands of records and gave performances that brought people to dance floors at Greek nightclubs in Athens, Toronto, Chicago, Detroit and Tarpon Springs.

For years, he taught bouzouki at Tarpon Springs Elementary School, setting several students on the path to become skilled musicians.

Mr. Skordilis was born in 1930 in Athens and died Saturday in Tarpon Springs. He was 83.

The family will welcome visitors from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Dobies Funeral Home, 701 E Tarpon Ave. The funeral will be at noon Saturday at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 36 N Pinellas Ave.

Until just months before he died, Mr. Skordilis directed a chorus at the Hellenic Cultural Center.He also continued to perform with the bouzouki.

"He was so devoted to playing his music," said Tina Bucuvalas, a family friend. "Even after he had a stroke, he would take off his oxygen to go to restaurants to play music and socialize."

He grew up poor but was a skilled guitarist who transitioned to the bouzouki, rising to fame in Greece in the 1960s just as the instrument shed its image as music for the underworld and became popular.

Mr. Skordilis toured Greece and Australia alongside then-wife Daina Lena, and together they composed several hits. Hesigned with the Columbia record label.

One of his hits, Your Mini Dress, was an ode to miniskirts, a daring new trend in late 1960s Greece. Dictator Georgios Papadopoulos, who assumed power in Greece in 1967, banned miniskirts — and Mr. Skordilis' miniskirt song.

The couple performed in some of North America's most prestigious Greek nightclubs, landing in 1977 at Zorba's in Tarpon Springs.

After Lena became ill and died, Mr. Skordilis stayed in Tarpon and met Kay, who said she was attracted to his kind smile and his honesty. "He never carried on about himself or acted pretentious," she said.

They began dating in 1978, got married, and she joined him on tour. It was always an adventure, she said.

Once, he took a job in Daytona Beach only to find out the restaurant where he was supposed to play hadn't yet opened. So the couple lived under a bridge in a van they bought at an auction.

Mr. Skordilis' health declined in recent years, and he was in and out of a nursing home. Doctors diagnosed him with lung cancer and removed a lung around 2008. Soon after, he had a stroke.

But he rarely spoke of his health problems, saying he wanted people to enjoy themselves when he performed, not feel sorry for him.

"We had a fun life together," said Kay Skordilis, 77. "Traveling, meeting people. And he loved that bouzouki."

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Brittany Alana Davis can be reached at [email protected] or 850-323-0353.

President Donald Trump and top Republicans will promise a package of sweeping tax cuts for companies and individuals, the Washington Post reports, but the GOP leaders will stop short of labeling many of the tax breaks they hope to strip away, putting off controversial decisions that threaten to sink the party's tax …

Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey last year made a definitive announcement about the company's famous 140-character count amid rumors that the firm would substantially relax the limit. "It's staying," Dorsey told the "Today" show's Matt Lauer. "It's a good constraint for us."